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Attorney-General, Minister for Local Government and Special Minister of StateThe Honourable Paul Lucas

Major Projects Office one step closer

Attorney-General, Minister for Local Government and Special Minister of State
The Honourable Paul Lucas

Friday, July 22, 2011

Major Projects Office one step closer

The State Government has today released details about the new government office that will be charged with streamlining economy-building medium to large-scale development projects.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Local Government Paul Lucas said the office would boost confidence in the local construction industry by ensuring the smooth and timely delivery of large-scale developments such as shopping centres and office blocks.

“In April we convened the Building Revival Forum to discuss potential short and medium-term measures to help kickstart the construction industry following the global financial crisis.

“One of the more important reforms the industry called out for was the development of a coordination body to help projects that fall short of Coordinator-General or Urban Land Development Authority coordination get through some of the bigger hurdles thrown up during the planning process.

“The government responded with a commitment to investigate the establishment of a Major Projects Office (MPO) to be a one-stop shop for these projects,” Mr Lucas said.

“The MPO is not an approval agency – it doesn’t override councils or state agencies. What industry wanted was a single point of contact with individual case managers allocated to projects.

“It will offer whole-of-government assessment to help streamline major commercial and industrial developments.

“This will ensure the smooth, timely delivery of these big ticket projects that will benefit the community and in turn, help stimulate the construction industry.

“Eligible projects will be those that are more complicated than usual, and need a more coordinated facilitation from the State Government.

“A case manager will be responsible for facilitating projects, helping to move it through the process and communicating with other state agencies.

“Projects will need to be in sync with the intent of existing regional plans, and in accordance with either the local planning scheme or an established development sequence.

“Importantly, projects that have the capacity to generate significant jobs, social benefits or environmental outcomes will be encouraged.

“There may also be special consideration of major regional projects, recognising the importance of building and construction activity to local economies up and down the state.

“Regions are the key to Queensland’s economy, that’s why we’ve specifically developed guidelines that allow more flexibility around the eligibility of regional projects within the MPO qualification process.

“We want to help developers get these projects up and running so there are even more jobs and economic benefits for Queenslanders.”

The State Government allocated $1.8 million in this year’s budget to establish the office within the Department of Local Government and Planning’s Growth Management Queensland.

The MPO will work within the Sustainable Planning Act 2009.

It will deal with major projects that do not qualify for oversight by the Co-ordinator General, or residential projects which are facilitated by the Urban Land Development Authority.

Mr Lucas said the MPO was one of the ideas put forward at the Building Revival Forum hosted by the Premier earlier this year.

“In April, the State Government convened the forum to bring together representatives from the building, development and finance industries to brainstorm ideas on how to reignite the construction industry,” Mr Lucas said.

“The establishment today of the MPO is an excellent example of the State Government’s commitment to getting the construction industry back on track.”

Eligibility Criteria for Major Projects Office (MPO) facilitation

A project or a program of projects with State referral requirements that:

Is in accordance with the strategic intent of a regional plan; and is in accordance with a planning scheme OR an established development sequence;

Involves a range of complex considerations that necessitate coordinated facilitation; and

Exhibits one or more of the following key characteristics:

has the capacity to generate significant economic, social and/or environmental benefit for a city, region and/or the State

is a retail, commercial or mixed-use development with a value of at least $30 million, or an industrial development with a value of at least $20 million

has a substantial and demonstrated commitment, financial or otherwise, from a party that is dependent on the delivery of the development.

Nominated projects demonstrating more than one of the above characteristics will be given greater consideration for MPO facilitation.

The capacity to generate significant economic, social and/or environmental benefits will be highly valued, as will the capacity of proposals to contribute to strengthening regional economies.

Bearing in mind the critical importance of regional development, the MPO will exercise flexibility in assessing and considering regional projects for inclusion and facilitation.

Fulfilment of the above criteria does not automatically guarantee MPO facilitation, and projects will be assessed on their relative merits.